Today and tomorrow I will be preparing for the Brewpub and Brewery Operations (HRIM-404) class that I'm co-teaching from May 4-22. On Monday (Day 1), we're brewing two 5-gallon batches of beer so that we can (hopefully) have some to drink by Day 15.
The first recipe is a British bitter, from which the majority come from Dave's notes. In honor of his contribution, I've named the recipe Hwart's Bitter (small inside joke). Why a bitter? Well - because of scientific research: I had three chemistry students do water testing on our local water this semester. They looked for certain ions that define water quality, then compared our levels to those of famous brewing waters. The result was that the best beer to make here in Indiana, PA is a bitter. We'll see how it goes.
The second recipe is a Czechvar clone, a bit lower gravity and using only Saaz hops. Also, we're going to try to use California lager yeast to ferment, since it knocks out a bit quicker and at a bit higher temperature. Keep those fingers crossed!
Both batches will be brewed on Day 1, bottled on Day 5 (Fri.), and opened for drinking on Day 15 (last Fri.).
In order to aid in that process, today I'll be making two yeast starters. Going to use about 4 oz. of DME in 1 qt of water for the wort. We'll see how it goes. Tomorrow, I'll be filling up my sanitized brew bucket with 5-6 gallons of my filtered tap water to use for the bitter. My colleague is bringing in 5-6 gallons of well water for the lager.
Sun May 3 update: The yeast starters are bubbling along quite nicely and should be ready to pitch tomorrow morning. I have all of my ingredients boxed up and ready to pack in the car, and I'm filling up the brew bucket with water in just a few minutes. I've been working on slides all days, but my lectures don't start until Tuesday, so I have a bit more prep time.
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